


Through His Eyes

by msalexiscriss



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Boyfriends, Domestic Bliss, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Feels, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Indonesia, M/M, POV Magnus Bane, Romance, Sappy Ending, Trip - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-09-14 13:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16913514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msalexiscriss/pseuds/msalexiscriss
Summary: Sequel to'The Best Birthday Ever.'Magnus and Alec travel to Indonesia for the weekend as part of Magnus’s very special birthday celebrations. During their trip, they visit some of Indonesia’s most famous sights and what used to be Magnus’s childhood home.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [majomushi3108](https://archiveofourown.org/users/majomushi3108/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!! It's Magnus's birthday and since he's my favorite character of all time, I couldn't not post a new fic today to commemorate his special day, so here I am!!!
> 
> A few months ago, my friend Maria Jose (@MariaJose3108 on twitter, go give her some love), asked me if I could write some sort of continuation to last year's Magnus's b-day fic (The Best Birthday Ever) to take you all, along with Malec, to their trip to Indonesia. And since I didn't have anything planned for this year, I said yes and this is the result. 
> 
> The fic is relatively short and you don't need to read the first one to understand it (though if you do and leave kudos I'll love you forever). I tried not to go into a lot of details because I was already making it longer than the one-shot I had planned for this story, so it's just a three-chapters fic—one chapter for each day that Magnus and Alec are in Magnus's hometown. Also I assumed (based on spoilers) that some shit is gonna happen between them with the whole magic thing, so I threw in there a line about that. I apologize in advance for that lol
> 
> Anyway, I was going to post all 3 chapters at once, but then I decided it was better if I posted one per day starting today, so enjoy this 3 day celebration!!!
> 
> PS: If you're from Indonesia and I messed something up, please let me know. I did A LOT of research for this short fic, but I know that Google isn't always the best place to find accurate information.

The portal closed behind them and together, with their bags in hand, Magnus and Alec stepped into a well-known place for Magnus: his private villa in the Gili Islands, at the tip of Lombok, Indonesia. He had bought the place almost a century ago when, on one of his many visits, he had discovered it and fallen in love with it. Since then, his not-so-modest place and the island—Gili Trawangan, the largest of the three Gili islands—had undergone major changes in style and other things mainly due to modernization, but there was one thing that had remained untouched: the beautiful view it had. Especially when the sun was about to come out, which, incidentally, was the exact time that Magnus had planned for them to arrive.

When Alec had suggested having a private celebration for his birthday and traveling to Indonesia for the whole weekend, Magnus had immediately started making plans for them. He had listed in his mind all the places he wanted to show Alec and all the activities he wanted them to do together. Coming to his hometown always meant a struggle to Magnus. He loved his country and appreciated its culture. He never forgot his roots, where he came from, but, on the other hand, the memories he had of this place weren’t all good. His childhood had been very difficult, filled with a lot of pain and loss, so visiting this place had always been a bit bittersweet for him. The feeling had improved over the years, of course, but he had never been able to associate his hometown with happy memories. Now, however, he had the opportunity to change that, to finally be able to associate this place with only good things—the best things—because being here with Alec changed absolutely everything.

“Wow.” Alec said, dropping their bags on the floor and taking two steps to the huge balcony to properly admire the view. “This place is…” He said, but didn’t finish his sentence. Alec was completely under the spell of the spectacular view in front of him.

Magnus understood the feeling. The first time he had decided to come back to Indonesia and see the place where he came from, he had had a similar reaction. He had gone straight to Jakarta, where he had been born, not here, but the feeling had been the same. It was hard not to go anywhere in the country and not fall in love with it. It was a land as diverse and surprising as the people who lived in it.

“How much are we going to pay per night for this place?” Alec asked after a while, finally detaching his eyes from the view and looking around Magnus’s place.

With the sunrise in the background making his boyfriend look like the most beautiful of the postcards, Magnus had to take a deep breath to control himself before replying. “Not a penny, Alexander.” He said. “The place is mine.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Alec asked, looking around in amazement. His smile was like that of a small child—innocent, mischievous, and ecstatic. It was obvious for Magnus that Alec was clearly struggling to control his excitement and not run around to explore the place. “How much did it cost you?”

“Not much when I originally bought it. Now, however, it’s valued at a few million dollars.” Magnus said modestly. “It’s not that big, though, you should see the other places around the neighborhood.”

“Well, not that big or not, I think it’s perfect.” Alec said. He had started walking around, exploring the place, learning its corners and special places, just as he had once done in Magnus’s Penthouse back in New York.

Magnus smiled. If someone had told him that in his long live there would be a time where he was going to find someone with whom he would want to share the rest of his life and every little part of himself—including the parts he hadn’t shared with anyone else—he would have laughed in their faces. He would have said that such person didn’t exist, that there couldn't be someone, mortal or immortal, who loved him heart and soul, but God, if he had been wrong. For some unbelievable reason, he had found Alec and in him, all those things that he had always longed for, but had never really thought he would or even deserved to have.

“Are you okay?” Alec asked him, grabbing his hands and lacing their fingers together. “It’s your birthday, you should be smiling, not looking so pensive and lost.”

“I’m not lost,” Magnus immediately said, “but I was, indeed, thinking.”

“Can I ask about what?”

“You, of course.” Magnus smiled. “Sometimes, when we’re together, I can’t help but think about my life before you, about all the things I didn’t know I wanted until you walked into it. It’s hard for me to picture a life in which you’re not in it—and I’ve had a very long life.”

Alec smiled and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips. “I had no life before you.” He said.

Magnus chuckled. “Yes you had, darling, you just weren't living it at your best, at your happiest—just like me.”

“Always so wise...but yeah, you’re right. Maybe I did have a life, but it wasn’t complete...now it is. And that’s why I’m glad we found each other.” Alec said in that blunt way he had of saying things.

“Me too.” Magnus smiled and kissed Alec again just because he could. 

“Should we...” Alec said, breaking the kiss, “...start unpacking?”

Magnus snapped his fingers and sent all their bags to the master bedroom, making sure their clothes and other belongings were neatly folded in the drawers and hung in the closet. Sometimes magic came in very handy. “Or…” he said, “we could make the most of our time here and start that very private weekend celebration that you planned.”

Alec smiled. “I like that.”

Magnus pulled Alec closer—if that was even possible—and kissed him again. “Thank you again for this.”

“For what?”

“For everything, Alexander. For the delicious cake and breakfast you prepared for me back home, for thinking about this trip, for taking the weekend off to be with me, for caring…”

“I’ll always care.” Alec said.

“I know…” Magnus smiled. “Anyway, it’s barely 7:00 a.m., we could go grab some breakfast at one of the many restaurants, or go to the beach for a swim, or just take a boat and visit Bali. That nap we took before portaling here actually helped with the jet lag, so I don’t know about you, but I’m not tired.”

“I’m not tired either.”

“Good, then we should probably change and-” Magnus started to say, but stopped when Alec began to, unceremoniously, unbutton Magnus’s shirt, leaving a trail of kisses on his now bare neck.

“I…” Magnus said already a bit breathless, “that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but I can’t say that I don’t like this-this sudden change of plans.” He smiled, grabbing Alec’s face and kissing him hard. “We have plenty of time to explore later.”

“Three whole days.” Alec winked, pushing him toward the nearest couch.

o-o-o-o-o

“Okay, are you ready?” Magnus asked Alec, who was just walking out of the house, freshly bathed and ready to go. Magnus had already told him the plan for the day during breakfast. They were going to take a boat to go to Bali, explore the city, and have fun there. Magnus really hoped that they had more days together, he wanted Alec to see every corner of his country—the more than 17,000 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago—but he knew it was impossible. So he had chosen special places so that Alec could get a good experience out of this weekend that they were going to spend together.

“Yes, but how are we going to get to the boat? I checked and there's no motorized transport on the islands. Our options are horse-drawn carts-”

“Cidomos.” Magnus pointed out the name of the horse-drawn carts.

“Well, those, walking, or bikes. You don’t happen to have bikes, do you?”

Magnus smiled in response. He didn’t, but he had summoned two for them to use while Alec was taking a shower.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just portal there?” Alec suggested.

“And miss all the fun?” Magnus questioned. “No, Alexander, we’re gonna do this as tourists do. Well, kinda, I’m going to speed up our boat with my magic so that we get to Bali in relatively no time and completely dry, but even so, we’re gonna try to be as normal as possible.”

Alec chuckled. “We’re not normal, but okay, it’s your birthday weekend, so we’ll do whatever you want.”

Magnus smiled, taking the bikes from a small store room hidden in the garden.

“Those are really nice bikes.” Alec said. “And they look pretty new.”

“They are new, and they’re also enchanted now,” Magnus said, snapping his fingers and sending a wave of magic towards the bikes, “if someone tries to steal them while we’re gone, they’re gonna regret it.”

“What did you do?”

“Make them bite whoever tries to even touch them.” Magnus said with a satisfied smile.

Alec laughed. “Should we glamour then? I mean, not to draw any unnecessary attention.”

Magnus shook his head. “Indonesia has a very significant amount of Downworlders, there’s really no point, they’re going to see us anyway.”

“I didn’t know that.” Alec frowned.

“That’s how this place keeps its magic, Alexander, it’s truly an enchanted land. Full of magical creatures, you’ll see. So...shall we?”

Alec nodded, climbing on the first bike and smiling enthusiastically. “The last one to arrive at the dock pays for dinner.” He said with a wink, laughing and riding away at full speed.

Magnus laughed too and did the same, quickly catching up with Alec. It was nice to just enjoy his time with his boyfriend, they always had a great time together, but they had never done something like this before—have a short vacation. It was new and exciting and what Magnus would define as the best experience of his life.

They arrived at the docks in a relatively short time, Magnus’s Villa wasn’t so far from them, so the ride there was short, but very pleasant. Magnus quickly secured their bikes and after talking to someone at the docks—an old acquaintance, another warlock—he got them a boat. A fast boat.

“Did you know that woman?” Alec asked.

Magnus nodded. “I know many people here. Now come...” he said, grabbing Alec’s hand and helping him to get into the boat. It wasn’t as if Alec really needed help with that, Magnus knew that the man was very capable of getting on the boat without help and that the sea was very calm in the morning, but it was part of that normality they were trying to have.

“Look at the color of the sea.” Alec said. “I wish we could bottle it to keep that blue forever.”

“I can.” Magnus said. “The blue would be an enchantment, of course, since you know that the sea isn’t really blue, it only looks blue, but I can do it if you want. Get us a little natural souvenir.”

Alec nodded.

Magnus snapped his fingers and a vial materialized in Alec’s hands. “Get your water, Shadowhunter.” He winked at his boyfriend.

Alec wasted no time and leaned over the boat to get the water. Magnus snapped his fingers again and sealed the vial, making sure that the enchantment to keep the color of the water stayed trapped inside.

“We should do this in every corner of the ocean,” Alec said, admiring the vial, “make a collection of sea water. Just imagine all the different shades of blue we could get!”

“I like that idea.” Magnus smiled. “We could label them and put them on a shelf. Anyway...hold on tight, we’re about to speed our way to Bali. And by speed, I mean literally speed, we’ll be there in just some minutes.”

Alec didn’t say anything, but Magnus saw him activating some of his runes.

Magnus started the engine of the boat, and just as he had promised, in less than five minutes they were in the Benoa Harbour in Bali.

“Well, that was really fast.” Alec said, climbing down the boat with a jump.

“We have to explore as much as we can of this place in one day.” Magnus explained. “I want us to go to the main cities, Denpasar, Candidas, Kuta, Jimbaran, Legian, Lovina, Padang Bai, Sanur, Seminyak and Ubud.”

“All those places in one day?”

“Yes, we won't be able to see everything, of course, but at least I want you to have the whole Bali tour.”

“You’re going to kill me in the process.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Alexander, you have that stamina rune that I’ve seen work wonders on you,” Magnus said, winking suggestively, “besides, I have magic, we’ll be fine.”

“Okay, then where to first?”

“We’re going to be jumping all over the place because some places are more beautiful at night and some others when there’s light,” Magnus said, paying a local man at the Harbour to take  care of their boat for the day, “so we’ll be portaling around. First, I think we’ll visit the capital, Dempasar. It’s not a common tourist destination, but it has some good places to visit. The Bajra Sandhi monument in Puputan Park, the Bali museum, the art center, not to mention that the Bali Institute is there. We could visit it if you want, you could even meet the Head of the Institute there and-”

“I’m here to spend time with my boyfriend on his birthday and learn about his culture and the place where he was born, not to work. I know who the Head of Bali Institute is, I have access to the database back home, so there’s no need to pay him a visit. We have all these other amazing places to visit.”

Magnus smiled, clearly touched by what Alec had said, but quickly looked away. He was more vulnerable in this place and Alec had a way to disarm him with just one word, so he didn’t want to ruin the mood by getting all emotional.

“You okay?” Alec asked, barely touching his hand. They both were aware that while people were very tolerant and welcoming to visitors, they were also very modest and polite, so public displays of affection—and nudity for that matter—were frowned upon in pretty much the entire country.

Magnus nodded. “It’s just that...well, it’s just that no one had ever wanted to know me—all of me. It’s unsettling, I’m not used to this or-”

“Well, start to get used to it because I do.” Alec said, and Magnus smiled. "I will always want to know everything about you, no matter what. And although sometimes I screw up, I'll always have your best interests at heart because I love you."

Magnus knew. Sometimes he forgot and doubts clouded his judgment, like that time when Alec hadn’t told him about the soul sword or when he had tried to help him get his magic back after Asmodeus had taken it and things had gotten a bit messy, but he knew. Deep down, he always knew. “I love you too.”

“So, our first stop is Dempasar, right?” Alec asked with a smile. “Where can you open the portal? Is it safe to do it here?”

Magnus smiled, opening the portal. “Pretty safe.” He said.

“Then let’s go!”

o-o-o-o-o

They were in Lovina, visiting a Buddhist monastery called Brahmavihara-Arama located near the Village of Dencarik, where they would later return to have dinner and watch a traditional Bali Dance. Magnus was really trying to show Alec as much as he could of his country. They had been walking all day, exploring, and devouring every inch of one of Indonesia’s most famous islands, while at the same time making the most of their time together. After all, there weren’t many opportunities for them to do that so often.

They went places all the time, on dates or just for fun, especially on Alec’s days off or when Magnus was having a craving, but it wasn’t the same. They went only for a little while, a few hours at most, this was a whole weekend they had to be together and without any worries.

“You’re going away...again.” Alec said.

Magnus knew that he had been doing that a lot, getting lost in his thoughts.

“I'm sorry, I was just thinking how hard it is for us to have so many days just for us.” He confessed. “We go places all the time, but only for a few hours. I like this, to have time to be with you alone and without having to worry about anything.”

“I know, that’s why I asked, no, I begged Izzy, Simon, Jace, and Clary—especially Jace and Clary—not to bother us unless it was a life or death kind of situation and even so, I put them some conditions for it.”

“I called Catarina as well.” Magnus chuckled.

“You did? But she never bothers us, well, you. Quite the opposite, actually.”

“I know, but I needed someone to fill in for me while we were away. I may no longer be the High Warlock of Brooklyn, but someone always needs my help, Alexander. So I called her to ask her to provide help if necessary. I didn’t want to leave everyone unprotected back home. Those siblings and friends of yours have the ability to get themselves in trouble all the time. I didn’t want us to worry about them while we were here.” He confessed.

Alec smiled. “I really want to kiss you right now.” He said.

Magnus looked around. There was no one in sight, just a few pixies near the gates of the place, talking to the flowers and clearly not paying attention to them. Magnus knew there must be some monks inside the monastery as well and maybe more pixies—pixies loved temples—but right now, no one who could be offended if they kissed could see them. “Then kiss me.” He said, pulling Alec closer and kissing him.

“You taste like coconut.” Alec said.

“You too.”

They laughed. They had made a stop before getting there to have a drink and quench their thirst. They had tried the  _ ‘es kelapa muda,’ _ one of the country's favorite drinks—loved by tourists and locals alike. It was a drink made of cold or iced coconut water, young coconut meat, and syrup. Magnus always liked to spike his and add a little vodka to enhance the flavors, but this time he hadn’t.

“Anyway…” Alec said, crossing the doors and entering the site, “what do you know about this place?” He asked. 

Magnus had been serving as tour guide most of the time, sharing whatever information he knew about each sight they visited, and Alec had been listening attentively, asking questions and trying to learn as much as he could about them.

“Not much really.” He admitted. “I had never been here before…” He said because it was true. They had ended up visiting this place because Alec had asked him to ask the people at Dencarik if there was anything nearby that they could visit and they all had suggested this place.

“Really?”

Magnus nodded. “I’ve visited as much as I can on my many travels, but I haven’t seen it all, there’s still a lot to be discovered. But maybe with you that could change,” he said with a smile, “you certainly know how to keep my pace.”

“I like that.” Alec smiled. “So...what do we know about it?” He asked, looking around to see if there was a sign nearby where they could read about this place, but there was none.

“It’s a Buddhist monastery.” Magnus said.

“Clearly.” Alec laughed.

“It’s not that clear, there are some mixed signals here and there.” Magnus said. “You can see the Buddhist influence all around.” He pointed out. “The orange roofs, the golden Buddhas that we’ve seen so far, and the stupas recalling those at Borobudur.”

“Borobudur?”

“It’s a Buddhist temple complex in Central Java, we’re gonna visit it too. The stupas are those dome-shaped structures you see over there.” Magnus pointed to the dome shaped structures of the building. It only had a few compared to those at Borobudur, but they were very visible. “But look at the cravings and the ornamentation around us.” He added. “Those are Balinese, so this place is a combination of both. It's unusual, but it kinda works, I like it.”

“I like it too.” Alec said, walking a little and sitting by the fountain that was there to enjoy the view. “How many hidden treasures like this one do you think there are in all the islands?”

“Millions. When people visit, they usually only go to the popular places, the ones advertised for tourist, but there are places that only locals know about. Hidden treasures as you called them."

“I want us to discover them all.” Alec said.

“That’s going to take us some time.”

“Or maybe not,” Alec suggested, “look at how many places we visited today and the day isn’t even over. I couldn’t list them even if I wanted to.” He said.

“Well, that’s because we cheated, we used magic and your angelic blood to help us accomplish that feat.”

“I know, that’s why I’m sure we could do it in half the time, discover all those other places if we wanted to.”

“I want to, the problem will be finding time to do it. Our lives in New York aren’t exactly uneventful, we’re busy all the time.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure to find the time.” Alec said, looking at him. “I want us to do this more often, to have time for ourselves, not just once in a while. I want us to travel. You once said that the world was my oyster. I want to discover it with you. I want us to go back to Paris and stay there for a week, not only for a few hours because you were craving real croissants and didn't want to eat those things we have in New York. I want us to go back to Tokyo and recreate our first date, but this time stay for some days to properly explore the city. I want us to go to every corner of this world and discover places like this one, that neither of us have ever seen before and make them ours.”

Magnus smiled. “I want that too.”

“Good, because we’re gonna need your magic to portal us everywhere.”

“Deal.”

“Do you think we can climb up there?” Alec asked, pointing to the roof of the monastery. “I know that technically speaking we shouldn't, but maybe we could glamour ourselves and watch the sunset from there?”

Magnus smiled. “I like the way you think.”  

They walked, trying not to look suspicious, and after glamouring themselves, climbed to the top of the monastery and leaned against the tallest stupa to watch the sunset. It was the best view they could get. The sun was sinking below the horizon and casting golden shadows all around them. They could see Dencarik and the Buluh Bay in the distance. It was breathtaking.

“So beautiful…” Alec whispered.

“The most beautiful.” Magnus agreed, but he was no longer looking at the view, but at his boyfriend’s beautiful face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CH2 will be up tomorrow :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here's chapter two!! I hope you enjoy it!! And again, if you're from Indonesia and I screwed up something about your country and culture, please let me know so I can fix it. I did my research, but I'm not perfect. 
> 
> Anyway, kudos, bookmarks, and comments are always appreciated ;)

Magnus woke up to the smell of dark coffee, freshly cut fruit, bread, and Alec. He opened his eyes to find not only an amazing homemade breakfast and a half-naked Alec at his side, but the sun completely illuminating their room. He had no idea what time it was, but he had clearly overslept.

“Morning.” Alec said with a smile. 

He was wearing only his swim trunks and his hair was all wet. Magnus figured that he had woken up earlier than usual and had decided to swim in the pool. It was clearly hot outside and, for a moment, Magnus didn’t know what he wanted more—to run to the pool to swim too, to eat the mouthwatering food that Alec had prepared for them, or to lose himself in his boyfriend’s arms. It was a really difficult, if not impossible, choice.

“Did you sleep well?” Alec asked, grabbing a strawberry from the plate and biting it.

The sight of the strawberry juice slightly coloring Alec’s lips made Magnus’s mind to consider choosing his boyfriend over the food and the pool, but when Alec gave him what was left of his strawberry and his stomach rumbled, Magnus had no choice but to admit that eating should be a priority at the moment. All the magic that he had used the day before, not only so that they could walk twice as much as what any other tourist would walk, but also for their private bedroom activities had exhausted him completely. He was practically drained and needed to recover his energy as soon as possible, and food was always the best source to get it.

“Where did you find all this?” Magnus asked, grabbing some grapes from the plate and a piece of bread. Alec had prepared food to feed an army.

“The store down the street.” Alec said. “It’s owned by a werewolf, did you know that?”

Magnus nodded. “I Kadek Pedjeng,” he said, sharing the name of the store owner with Alec, “his older brother used to be the owner, but he died a few years ago.”

“His name is I Kadek Pedjeng?”

Magnus nodded again. “Balinese names are different from Indonesian names.”

“How so?” Alec asked, scooting closer to Magnus on the bed and grabbing some more fruit.

“They have three parts: a title, a name according to birth order, and a personal name.” Magnus explained. “In this case, I, is the prefix that indicates his gender and works as a title, Kadek, means little brother and is used to name second born children, so it indicates his birth order, and Pedjeng, which means moon is his name. The person you met is a second-born male whose personal name is moon.”

“His personal name is moon and he’s a werewolf?” Alec said, chuckling a bit.

“A mere coincidence.” Magnus said. “He didn’t use to be one, he was attacked when he was a child.”

“Where?”

“I don’t know exactly, but it was during a family trip to the Riau Islands. The whole family was attacked by a pack of wild werewolves, but only the two boys managed to get out alive. The Batam pack took them in and helped them out.”

“How old were they?”

“The one you met barely 6 and his brother 10, it was a real tragedy.”

“He’s a very nice man, the moment he saw me, he knew that I was a Shadowhunter and that I was with you. He says he knows you.”

“He comes to keep an eye on the place from time to time and make sure everything’s fine, and I pay him for it.” Magnus said. “I know he needs the extra cash, he has a family of his own now—a wife and a baby girl.”

Alec smiled, taking some bread. “I liked him, maybe one day we could invite him and his family to visit New York.” He said between mouthfuls. “We talked a bit while he was packing all the food and he said he’s never been there before, but that he’d like to visit, so maybe if you asked him, he would like the idea of spending some days there with us. Anyway, what are our plans for today?” He asked.

“I was thinking that we could visit the Komodo National Park and then Tana Toraja—I have a friend who lives there and who could show us around. I’m sure you’re going to find that place and its traditions absolutely fascinating. Besides, all the surrounding areas are really beautiful and there are a lot of places to explore.”

“Sounds great, but what about Jakarta?” Alec asked.

That had been the original purpose of this trip, to visit where Magnus had been born. Alec knew a lot about Magnus's story, he knew that he had been born in Jakarta—although at that time the city had been known as Batavia and Indonesia as the Dutch East Indies—but still. Alec knew that that was the place where Magnus's childhood memories were and that was why he was asking him when they were going to finally visit the city. But Magnus had been delaying that visit until the very last day for personal reasons.

“Tomorrow.” He said, taking a sip of his coffee to avoid having to elaborate.

“You don’t want to go, don’t you?” Alec said. 

Magnus sometimes forgot how much his boyfriend actually knew him and how easily he could read him.

“It’s not that,” Magnus confessed, “I want to go, but…”

Alec grabbed his hand.

“It’s not easy,” Magnus said, looking at Alec; his boyfriend was listening to him attentively, as he always did, “you know my story, in fact, you’re the only one who knows every bit of it, and it’s hard, Alexander. I come here all the time, but I always try to avoid going to Jakarta. I need time to prepare myself for it. And maybe I’m being selfish, but everything’s been so different with you here. I’m enjoying our time here so much, I don’t want to ruin it with bad memories.”

“Haven’t you come here with any other of your past lovers?” Alec asked.

Magnus shook his head. “You’re the first one.” He said.  _ ‘And the last one.’ _ He thought, but didn’t say it. He couldn’t see himself sharing this with anyone else.

Alec squeezed Magnus’s hand tighter. “Then we’ll go tomorrow and if you’re not ready, we’ll come back some other time.” He said and bent down a bit to kiss him on the cheek. “Remember that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Magnus smiled. “I love you.”

o-o-o-o-o

The visit to Komodo Park was exactly what Magnus had expected it to be: fun, exciting, unexpected, and full of adventures. It was one of Indonesia's greatest natural treasures and they had enjoyed every minute of their time there. They had scuba dived, walked, hiked and even run for their lives at some point when a Komodo Dragon—the world's largest lizard—had decided he didn’t want them to be there taking pictures of him and had tried to attack them; despite the fact that Alec had, very kindly, asked him to pose for them before approaching him. They could have easily stopped the animal with magic or with one of Alec’s weapons, but they loved animals, so instead of risking having to hurt him to make it out alive, they had just ran away, laughing and hoping that their new four-legged enemy hadn't decided to follow them and finish what he had started.

After that, they had portaled away and visited some other places on the Lesser Sunda Islands, stopping only for lunch and to buy some souvenirs for their friends and family back home. When they had made sure to have a gift for everyone, including people they didn’t necessarily like, they had portaled directly to Southern Sulawerest to spend the rest of the day exploring Tana Toraja—the land of the Heavenly Kings.

“Wow.” Alec said, again.

That was, perhaps, the only word his boyfriend had been using whenever they visited a new place.

“This is one of Indonesia’s best kept cultural secrets.” Magnus said. “You’ll see why.”

“Where are we exactly?” Alec asked.

“Ke’te Kesu.” Magnus said. “It’s a traditional Torajan village.”

“Are those...houses?” Alec asked, pointing to the wooden structures in front of him.

Magnus nodded. “They’re known as Tongkonan. This village has six Tongkonans, twelve granaries, a large open ceremonial ground, and a nearby cave burial site.”

“Oh!” Alec exclaimed. “This is the place you said that had some complex funeral ceremonies, right?”

“Complex would be saying it lightly, but yes.” Magnus smiled, glad to confirm once more that Alec really paid attention to every word he said. “But we’ll talk about some of those traditions later, we have to meet my friend, the one I told you about. He owns one of these houses, I don’t know which, this is the first time he invites me—the bastard—but I sent him a fire message while we were shopping to tell him that we were here, and he said he would be happy to invite us for a drink, so come, let’s go.”

“Does he know about us?”

“Alexander, after what happened at your own wedding, you can be 100% sure that the entire Shadow World knows about us, you didn’t kiss an ordinary warlock, darling.” Magnus winked at him. “Besides, news spread fast in our world. Do you know how many fire messages I received that day? Thousands! Some congratulating me, some others wishing me a quick and painful death, and others simply expressing their anger because I had scored a young and very handsome boyfriend and they hadn't."

Alec laughed and followed him. 

"Anyway, all Tongkonans have boat-shaped roofs,” Magnus continued, explaining what he knew about the place as they got closer to the village, “they’re higher on the back in a symbol of desire for prosperity for those residing in the house. The decorated poles that support the roof and that you can see framing the facades are a sign of the wealth and status of the family.” He explained.

“Are they decorated with...horns?” Alec asked, tilting his head a bit.

Magnus nodded. “Buffalo horns, and those on the sides are Buffalo jaw bones. The more Buffalo horns and jaws, the higher the prestige of the family.” He said. “Buffalo horns are excellent for some spells, they’re hard to get and-”

“Magnus!” A man exclaimed, approaching them from the village.

“Mentari!” Magnus said, greeting his old friend with a hug. It had been almost a century since the last time he had seen him. He hadn’t changed a bit, though, just his hair—it was shorter now. “May I introduce you to-”

“Alec Lightwood.” Mentari said, immediately shaking hands with Alec. “I’ve heard a lot of things about you, young Shadowhunter—not from Magnus, of course—he never writes or remembers that he has friends unless he needs them,” the man said, and Magnus rolled his eyes, “but you are what the Downworld likes to call an unusual breed of Shadowhunter.”

“I hope that’s a good thing?” Alec said hesitantly.

“It is, it sure is. But come,” Mentari said, pulling them both, “let’s have some drinks at my place. We can talk more freely there.”

Both Magnus and Alec followed Mentari to his Tongkonan. Magnus had been in the village a couple of times in the past, but had never had the chance to actually see the interior of one of these places. All the times he had visited, Mentari hadn’t been around to let him in, and charming the Torajans hadn’t been an option. They were a pretty difficult ethnic group to please, magic didn’t surprise them.

“How’s been your stay in this land?” Mentari asked, motioning them to climb up the stairs to get inside the place. Magnus looked at Alec and then at the very decorated poles on the facade, so that his boyfriend knew that his friend had an important status among the villagers due to the excessive number of Buffalo horns he had there.

“We’re staying in the  _ Tiga Gili.” _ Magnus said, using the Indonesian name of the Gili islands.

“Oh, a beautiful and very romantic place.” Mentari said suggestively. “But please, make yourselves at home.” The warlock said, opening the door of his home.

From the outside, the place looked small like all the others, but once he entered, Magnus could feel the magic and the spells that his friend had cast to make the place even bigger than Magnus’s penthouse in New York. It had a lot of traditional ornamentation, a clear sign that Mentari respected the culture of his country, but Magnus couldn’t help noticing that his friend also hadn’t been able to resist the temptation to add certain...amenities that were typical of the Western world. His Tongkonan was like a city apartment with every comfort and luxury one could imagine, but still very Torajan—if that made any sense.

“I see that not even you could resist modernization.” Magnus pointed out.

“I’ve lived many, many years, more than you,  _ temanku sayang, _ I can’t live a traditional life all my life. This place has remained frozen in time for centuries, I got bored of it.” He said.

_ “Temanku sayang?” _ Alec asked.

“It means my dear friend.” Magnus immediately said, and Alec smiled.

“Although he’s not so dear to me at the moment,” Mentari added, “but I’ll consider forgiving him if he invites me to New York one of these days.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “You know you can always go there, you don’t need an invitation, and I did invite you a couple of months ago.” He said.

“Oh, yes, when you were collecting warlocks for your spell.” Mentari said. “But the new High Warlock of Brooklyn sent a message to the High Warlock of Jakarta and she forbade us to assist you. What did you even do to that man? He doesn't like you very much.”

“Nothing!” Magnus said.

“Hmmm, I’m not sure if I should believe you or not. I know you, Magnus, you must have done something to make him dislike you that much.” Mentari said. “But anyway, have you visited all the land?”

“No, we went to Komodo Park this morning and spent some time on the Lesser Sunda Islands, but we wanted to see Londa and visit you, of course. I wanted to show Alexander as much as I could of all the different places, cultures, and traditions that we have here.” Magnus said. “I thought he would find extremely interesting what happens in this place when someone dies...the  _ Rambu Solo.” _

“Oh, that’s for me the most fascinating aspect of the Torajan Culture.” Mentari said, looking at Alec. “The  _ Rambu Solo _ are our funerals, we, Torajans, believe that the most important thing about someone’s life is their death and, as such, all our life rituals are in preparation for the corresponding burial rituals. Torajans don’t believe that death is immediate,” the man explained, “but rather that the deceased is  _ ‘sick’. _ And since the deceased can only be buried at certain times of the year—during our funeral season—and once a certain number of buffaloes have been amassed for sacrifice, the body remains in the homes of their relatives for weeks, months, or even years before the traditional ceremony of  _ Rambu Solo _ can be enacted. During this time, the family continues to visit, talk to, and bring food to the deceased.”

“And how do you-how do they preserve the body?” Alec asked. He seemed intrigued, fascinated, and scared all at the same time.

“With formalin, although a little bit of magic is involved, not that they’re aware of that, so if someone asks you, you say formalin.” Mentari said. “Anyway, as part of the burial ritual a traditional dance is performed, buffaloes and pigs are sacrificed, and then there's a feast that is shared with the entire village. In some cases a ceremonial cockfight is required too."

"Why do they sacrifice animals?" Alec asked.

"Due to the Torajan belief that blood needs to be spilled on the ground to facilitate the transition of a soul to  _ Puya _ —the land of the souls.”

Alec looked at Magnus.

Magnus smiled. “I told you that you would find it fascinating.” He was aware that Shadowhunters' burial rituals were also very complex.

“And can we see that?” Alec asked them both.

“Of course,” Mentari said, “none of the villagers here have lost a relative lately, but there’s a nearby village that's having a  _ Rambu Solo _ for one of their elders, so if you hurry, you could see part of what happens. I’m not sure if you have time to stay for the whole thing and still visit Londa during the day, which is when you should go. Londa isn’t a safe place for anyone from the Shadow World at night.”

“Oh, we have time,” Magnus said with a smile, “we can visit Londa first and then go see this other village.”

“But aren’t you here on official business?” Mentari asked.

“No, we’re just visiting,” Magnus said, “for the weekend.”

“We’re celebrating his birthday.” Alec added.

“Your birthday?” Mentari asked, looking at Magnus with surprise. Magnus nodded. “What? No, it can’t be. I would have remembered your birthday. I’m your friend and I clearly know that you were born on...wait!” He said and closed his eyes, raising his hands as if to ask for absolute silence while meditating.

Magnus and Alec looked at each other and tried not to laugh.

“In the name of the Seven Princes of Hell, it  _ was _ your birthday.” Mentari finally said. “On December 8, now I remember.”

Magnus nodded.

“I can’t believe that I am the bad friend now, that’s completely unacceptable. I haven’t sent you a gift in decades and I did receive a bag of dragon's eggs powder from you last year. We must change that. I shall throw a small gathering in your honor. Do you want us to perform a Manganda dance just for you? Because I can totally arrange that and-”

“It’s not necessary,” Magnus intervened, “we want to keep exploring the place and-” he was saying, but his friend interrupted him.

“Nonsense. You deserve to be honored for your birthday, so I’ll go talk to the villagers. They’ll be happy to celebrate with you. You two can go explore Londa and the other village, and when you’re back, everything will be ready for the gathering in your honor.”

Magnus sighed resignedly.

“Sounds like fun.” Alec said tentatively.

“It is fun, so say no more, we'll celebrate Magnus tonight. I’ll go get everything ready, you two take your time exploring, but don’t come back too late.” Mentari said, grabbing something from his table and walking out of the house without saying another word.

“So…?” Alec said.

“It seems we have to hurry.”

“He’s nice.” Alec smiled. “And throwing a gathering in your honor is a nice gesture, he didn't have to do that.”

“He’s a pain in the ass, but I suppose we could enjoy the celebration.”

“Then let’s go, we have no time to lose.”

o-o-o-o-o

When Magnus and Alec portaled back to what had become their little home for this trip—Magnus’s Villa—both were completely exhausted. The celebrations in Tana Toraja had extended and it had been way past midnight when they had finally been able to excuse themselves for the night and portal back home. Magnus felt tired and drained of magic after all the exploring, dancing, and drinking, but not as tired as Alec looked. His boyfriend had walked straight into the nearest couch and had practically dropped dead on it.

“Tired?” Magnus asked, sitting on the edge of the same couch and rubbing Alec’s back in circles, transferring some of his magic into his muscles to help him relax.

“Yes, but not for long.” Alec said, activating his stamina rune for the umpteenth time today.

“Using that rune so much has no side effects, right?” Magnus asked worriedly. Alec had been using it a lot during this trip and the edges of his rune were starting to look a bit red. Magnus knew every part of Alec’s body by heart and noticed when something was even a little different.

“No, as long as I keep being human.”

Magnus arched a brow at that.

“This rune activates my angelic energy,” Alec explained, “so it can keep me going for a long time, but eventually I have to get some real human rest. The same happens with the nourishment rune, it helps in times of need, but it’s not a substitute for food. I’m only half angel, after all.”

“You could have fooled me.” Magnus said, making Alec blush. “But it’s good to know that you’re going to be okay as long as we keep being human. And we have, I mean, we’ve been sleeping and eating a lot despite almost exhausting ourselves to death during the day.”

Alec nodded and laughed. 

Magnus liked the way Alec was when he was with him—happy and relaxed—very few ever had the chance to see him like that, like he truly was. “You like it here, don’t you?” He asked, because despite the fatigue the way Alec seemed to radiate in this place was almost blinding. His skin was now sun-kissed and that gave him a glow that had Magnus completely enthralled.

Alec shook his head. “I don’t like it, I love it!” He said, making room on the couch for Magnus to join him. “I want to move here.” He said.

Magnus knew that his boyfriend wasn’t being serious, but he played along. “Well, you could run the Institute in Bali if you wanted or the one in Papua, it’s really pretty up there, the Lorentz National Park is amazing and the Mamberamo River is to die for, in fact, there’s an entrance to the Seelie Realm right there.”

“Don’t tempt me.” Alec said, closing his eyes and resting his head on Magnus’s lap.

“Would you really move here?” Magnus asked because maybe Alec  _ had _ been serious about it.

“If you moved here, of course I would.” Alec said, not even opening his eyes. As if the answer he had just given hadn’t been that big of a deal, when according to Magnus it had.

“For real?”

Alec nodded and opened his eyes.

“But what about your family and your parabatai?”

“They’re a portal away.” Alec said.

Magnus couldn’t hide his surprise. “Would you really drop everything and follow me here?” He asked.

“Wouldn't you?” Alec said, turning so very slightly to make eye contact. “Wouldn’t you do the same for me? Let’s say that suddenly I had to run the London Institute or the Paris Institute, wouldn’t you drop everything to come with me?”

“Of course!” Magnus said, without thinking twice.

“But what about your friends? Raphael, and Catarina, and Madzie, and-”

“They’re a portal away.” Magnus said with a smile. He had used Alec’s own words.

“See? You’re not getting rid of me that easily, especially if you ever plan to move here.” Alec said. 

Magnus chuckled. “I’m not planning on getting rid of you ever.” He confessed, leaning down to leave a kiss on Alec’s cheek.

“I like the sound of that.” Alec smiled, closing his eyes again. “I like it very much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter will be up tomorrow :P


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I know I promised to post this a few days ago, but life and work got in the way and I couldn't find time to do it...so I apologize for making y'all wait. I'll try to compensate you somehow; does a LFY update sound good? Because that's what you're going to get lol 
> 
> Anyway...this is the last chapter of this short fic to celebrate Magnus's birthday, so I really hope you like it. It's a bit emotional, but in a very fluffy way, so don't worry 'cause there's no angst just a bit of hurt/comfort because we're in Indonesia and we couldn't be here and not mention and revisit Magnus's past ;) so enjoy!!! 
> 
> PS: Once again, if you're from Indonesia and I messed up somehow, please let me know so I can fix that ASAP.

Magnus opened his eyes before the sun even came out and sat up on the bed, trying not to wake Alec up. He had only had a few hours of sleep, but he wasn’t sure if he could get any more even though he knew he needed them. He was too anxious to go back to sleep. Today they were going to visit Jakarta, the place where he had been born. He had already told Alec that they weren’t going to directly portal there, they were going to portal to Central Java and visit Borobudur, and then they were going to drive to Jakarta. When Alec had questioned why, he had told him it was so that he could see more places as they traveled, but the truth was that Magnus needed that time to prepare himself to face his past again.

So far, everything he had experience here had been ten times more intense with Alec at his side; they had been having such a good time that he couldn’t deny that he was a bit afraid of what was going to happen with all that happiness he felt inside once he had to revisit the place that held the worst memories of his life. He really didn’t want to fall apart in front of Alec, not out of fear that he would judge him or anything like that, that would never happen, but because they had already had enough drama in their lives to add to the mix Magnus losing control just because he wasn't able to deal with his emotions and-

“You’re thinking too loud.” Alec muttered in his sleep.

“I’m not,” Magnus said, feigning some enthusiasm in his voice, “I’m just planning our day.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” Alec said, barely opening his eyes. “I know you’re worried and nervous about going to Jakarta tomorrow or today, I don’t know what time it is, but you have to relax, everything's going to be okay. If once we’re there you feel like you can’t do it, we can portal back here in the blink of an eye.”

Magnus smiled. “Okay...go back to sleep, it’s still early.”

“I’ll go back to sleep only if you go back to sleep too.” Alec whispered.

“Okay.” Magnus said, lying down and pretending to go back to sleep as Alec had asked him to, but the truth was that all he could do was think about the place that used to be his home. No one knew this—not even Alec—but he had cast some spells in that place a long, long time ago to preserve it and hide it from prying eyes, and even to this day, it had managed to survive the ravages of time. The place was exactly as Magnus remembered it in his nightmares, just...empty.

“You’re not sleeping.” Alec whispered.

“You’re not sleeping either.”

“What worries you?” Alec asked, grabbing his hand.

“My reaction…” Magnus confessed, “it’s been a long time since the last time I was there.” He said, although he didn't specifically say where. “I told you yesterday, I come here all the time, but I avoid Jakarta. And even if I have to go to the city for whatever reason, I don’t go...well, near where I used to live as a child.”

“Would you rather we stay here today?” Alec asked.

“No, I want us to go.” He said, because he did want them to go. Alec already knew what had happened, there were no secrets between them. He wanted him to see the house where he had been born and to know all about his culture and his hometown. He wanted Alec, the man he loved, to see every last part of him.

“Okay, then let’s get some more sleep.” Alec said. “You said that the car ride from Central Java to Jakarta was going to be long, so we’re going to need to be well-rested.”

“I’m actually thinking about changing our plans a bit,” he said because he had just made up his mind about that, “I think I’ll just portal us to Central Java in the morning so that you can see the Borobudur complex and part of the city, and then we’ll portal to Jakarta to explore it too. We can leave the visit to the place where I was born for the very end—just in case.”

Alec scooted closer to him. “Okay.”

“We also have to take a picture there.” Magnus said, thinking how important that visit was going to be for him and for their relationship.

“What?”

“In Jakarta.” He said, still whispering. He didn’t have to speak in a low voice, they were alone and both were clearly awake, but it was as if not to disturb the quietness of the early hours of the morning. “It’s kinda become our tradition since Tokyo, and Jakarta is an important city for me.” He said.

Since they had traveled to Tokyo for their second date, they had been taking pictures together in all the different places they had visited and that had been important for their relationship—Paris, Prague, Barcelona, Greece, Rio, Ethiopia. He desperately wanted to be able to add Jakarta to their collection.

“Of course, and we should take another one in this place before going home. I love it here.” Alec said. “I’m so glad you decided to share this little piece of paradise with me.”

“I’ve told you this many times, I want to share the world with you, Alexander.” Magnus said. “And just think of all the places we’re going to visit in the future.” He added,  already eager for all the other pictures they were going to collect over the years.

“We should start a photo album,” Alec suggested, “to have a place where we can keep all our adventures together—a place to remember all the good times.”

“Yeah.” Magnus said, although he had never done that before—keep a photo album. That had always been more of a Ragnor thing. His friend used to collect pictures to remember what he had lived with friends and loved ones. Magnus had always preferred tokens, mementos—things that had meaning and that weren’t just frozen memories. _But with Alec?_ With Alec he wanted to have a way to treasure every second of their time together and having pictures of all their adventures sounded like a good way to achieve it. “We could go buy one when we’re back home, turn it into our little pet project.”

“Okay.” Alec said. “I think I’ve seen a store near the Institute where they sell them, but I'm not sure, we can try to find it together next weekend.” He added. His eyes were closed and his head now rested on Magnus’s chest.

“I like that,” Magnus smiled, “but for now, sleep, love. I’ll make sure to wake us up in a couple of hours.” He said.

“Magnus?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Magnus smiled. “I love you too.”

And with Alec sleeping on his chest and the idea of that photo album and all the pictures they would take together in the future to distract him from what promised to be a very emotional day, Magnus closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

o-o-o-o-o

As had been planned just a few hours before, the moment they had woken up, Magnus had opened a portal and taken them directly to Borobudur. Alec had complained a bit about not having breakfast first, but Magnus had told him that Borobudur was the single most visited attraction in all of Indonesia and that that caused the site to be overrun most of the time. The best time to visit and truly enjoy it was in the early morning, before the hordes of tourists arrived. So Alec had agreed to the plan and stepped into the portal without further complaints, but only on the condition that Magnus invited him to a nice place afterwards to have breakfast.

And Magnus had kept his word.

After visiting the Buddhist temple complex and even meeting some Shadowhunters who had been on their way back to their Institute after patrolling the famous site during the night, they had portaled to Yogyakarta—the cultural capital of Central Java—for breakfast. Magnus had found a good restaurant and had taken Alec there to try the most famous local dish, the _gudeg_ , which was a curry of jackfruit, chicken and egg served with rice. When their stomachs had been full and Alec had had way too many _gudegs_ , they had portaled to their final destination: Jakarta.

“This place is huge!” Alec exclaimed, the moment the portal opened and they set foot in Indonesia’s capital city.

“It’s the largest city in the country,” Magnus explained, “the economic, cultural, and political center of the archipelago, and the most populous city not only in Indonesia but in Southeast Asia as a whole.”

Alec’s eyes widened. “So, how do we start exploring this monster of a city? We only have half a day.”

Magnus chuckled. “Like most people do, Alexander, on a tour bus.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, it’s the fastest way to do it, plus, it’s fun and you’ll get to see more places in less time. The buses are double decked and free. They follow a loop route that crosses some of Jakarta's places of interest. I think we can take it at the roundabout of the Hotel Indonesia,” Magnus said, “which, by the way, is really close to where we are and it'll take us to a bunch of different places: the City Hall, the Jakarta Art Theater, Juanda, Majapahit, Pasar Baru…” he added, “we could actually make a stop there. It’s a famous shopping center and focuses on its namesake market. It’s a maze of alleys and arcades with shops that sell whatever thing you can imagine. You’re gonna love it.”

“Okay, I like that.”

“Perfect, then let’s go.”

They took the tour bus and really enjoyed seeing everything from the top deck of the bus: MH Thamrin, the Medan Merdeka Barat, the Museum Nasional, the Majapahit, the Harmoni, the Komplek Sekretariat Negara, the ANZ Bank (Pecenongan). When they reached Pasar Baru, they immediately got off the bus and began to explore.

“Look at that building!” Alec exclaimed in amazement.

“That’s the Jakarta Art Building, now it’s a concert hall.”

“And that one?” Alec asked, pointing to the great cathedral before them.

“For the mundanes that’s the Jakarta Cathedral, but for you...it’s the entrance to the City of Bones in this city.”

Alec looked at him.

“You didn’t know that?”

Alec shook his head. “I’ve seen the maps, but it’s impossible to learn all the entrances that exist, each city in the world has at least two.”

“Well, I’m not sure how many entrances Jakarta has, but I’m sure that at least one of them is in there. I’ve seen it.”

“I’ll check the maps when we’re back home to see how many entrances are in the country, I’m guessing thousands...with so many islands.” Alec said. “Anyway, what’s that other building in front of the cathedral?”

“The Istiqlal Mosque,” Magnus said, “it’s beautiful inside, it has these giant steel columns supporting the main dome. We can visit it when we’re done with the market.”

“Okay.”

They started walking and exploring one of Jakarta’s biggest and craziest markets. Alec was stopping at almost every stall he saw, pointing out things he liked and sometimes even buying them. Magnus was smiling at him and serving as a translator when necessary, but he was also using the time they were spending there to calm himself down and gather all his courage to be able to take them to their very last stop on this trip: what used to be his childhood home.

“Close your eyes.” Alec said. He had just come out of a stall and was smiling from ear to ear.

“Why?”

“Just close them.”

Magnus rolled his eyes, but obliged, closing his eyes.

“Now open them.” Alec said.

Magnus opened them and, in front of him, Alec was holding a small cloth bag. It looked traditional, in a very Jakartian style with earthly prints of branches and leaves.

“For you.” Alec said, handing him the bag.

“What is it?” Magnus asked with a shy smile. Alec always managed to surprise him with gifts. Not the big kinds of gifts, but the very meaningful ones.

“Open it to find out.”

Nervously, Magnus started to open the bag. He was having a really hard time trying to hold it together, there was a whirlwind of emotions inside him threatening to come out at any moment and destroy everything in its path.

“I know that you have thousands and-” Alec started to say, but Magnus shut him up, putting a finger in front of his lips and taking Alec’s gift out of the bag.

It was a necklace.

A silver Javanese necklace with a batik pattern—the _sekar jagad_ —engraved on it with rusty contrasts. The necklace was also decorated in the center with a large red garnet: the gem of love and passion.

“Do you know what this means?” Magnus asked with trembling hands. There was great meaning behind the two prominent things that made up the necklace—the batik motif and the gem.

Alec nodded. “The lady who sold it to me said that the use of batik motifs is very meaningful. This is a,” he made a pause as if to try to remember the word, _“sekar jagad,_ which has different meanings according to how it’s presented, but in short, it embodies the meaning of beauty and grace and symbolizes the diversity that is found throughout the world. She also said that at weddings and when it's gifted to someone you love, it conveys the message of heartfelt joy of having found that person. And the gem is a garnet, for-”

“Love and Passion.” Magnus said, smiling at Alec’s lovely gift.

“As I was saying, I know that you have thousands of necklaces and that this may not be as-”

“I’ll have to shut you up again.” Magnus said, putting a finger, once again, in front of Alec’s mouth. “I have many necklaces, yes, but none of them are as special as this one, so shhhh.” He said, putting on the necklace and knowing full well that he was never—ever—going to take it off.

Alec smiled. “It looks good on you.”

Magnus chuckled. “Can we continue with the tour or do you want to keep shopping and finding things to make me want to kiss you in front of all these people and not give a damn about the show we’re going to give?”

“We can continue…” Alec laughed, “although I’m not opposed to putting on a show.”

“Is that so?” Magnus asked, “Well, I don’t want to be banned from entering my own country, but I guess this,” he said, grabbing Alec’s hand, “won’t hurt anyone.” He added with a wink. “Now, let’s go.” He smiled, pulling Alec with him out of the market and back into the street.

They visited the Istiqlal Mosque and then took the next tour bus that stopped there to continue the route, visiting all the other places the city had to offer, including the Jakarta infamous Shadow Market. After that, they had had lunch at a street stall and had started to walk quietly through famous parks and streets. Alec had no idea that their walk had a purpose and that they were heading somewhere, but Magnus did.

The more streets they walked, the more anxious he got.

“Where are we?” Alec asked after a while. “It’s a beautiful neighborhood, but I think we’re getting away from the main touristy streets. I’m not sure if these people would like the idea of us seeing their houses as if they were museums.” He said, but Magnus didn’t say anything and just kept walking, passing the line of houses that separated them from their destination.

“Magnus?” Alec asked, catching up with him. “Are you okay?”

Magnus nodded and took a deep breath. “We’re here.” He said.

“Where?” Alec asked confused.

Magnus didn’t answer, and instead, he just snapped his fingers to let his wards down and make what appeared to be just an abandoned vacant lot turn into an old house—turn into Magnus’s childhood home.

o-o-o-o-o

Magnus looked at Alec, who was just staring at the house and trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Magnus’s house, unlike those around them, had remained frozen in time, with the Batavian style that had been trendy back when he had lived there. The walls, the doors, the windows, the garden, everything was exactly as it had once been.

“You kept it as it was when you were a kid.” Alec said in a whisper.

Magnus nodded.

“I thought...I thought you had gotten rid of it.”

“I couldn’t,” Magnus confessed, “that’s why coming to Jakarta is so difficult for me, Alexander, because this place still exists.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that?” Alec asked. “I wouldn’t have pushed you to come here if I’d known that this place still existed. I thought that we would just go to some street and that you would point somewhere and you would tell me that that was where your home used to be. I thought you would try to make me imagine how this place used to look like back then, I never thought that I would actually get to see it for myself.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, I...”

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” Alec said, “if I’d known about this, I would have never suggested coming here for your birthday in the first place.”

“I was the one who suggested coming to Indonesia months ago, that’s where you got the idea.” Magnus said. “The day I said I wanted to come back here, I was expecting you to say that you wanted to join me because you’re the only person with whom I would ever share this.”

Alec grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Do you want us to enter or do you want us to just go?”

“We’re already here, so let’s go inside.” Magnus said, although he felt on the verge of losing control.

Alec started to explore the house while Magnus watched him from afar. His boyfriend was walking around and taking everything in, the smells, the textures, the colors...the silence. There had always been an eerie silence in this place, a constant and overwhelming presence that had haunted Magnus for centuries—the presence of death.

“It’s very peaceful in here.” Alec said as if he had listened to Magnus’s thoughts and was stating the exact opposite of what he had thought.

“I wouldn’t call it peaceful.” Magnus said.

“Why not?”

“Because people died in here, that overwhelming silence that you clearly feel is nothing but the presence of death.”

“People die everywhere and it doesn’t feel like this.” Alec objected. “Maybe you want to believe that everything about this house is related to death because of what happened to your mother and stepfather, but I think that this place has more of an absence-of-life kind of feeling than to death. You’re a very powerful Warlock, you know that there’s a difference between both concepts. This house that you preserved is the perfect example of what happens when a place remains empty for a long time, but still holds all the memories of the people who lived in it.”

“I don’t know...” Magnus lowered his head.

“Hey, look at me...I know how hard this is for you.” Alec said, getting closer to him, but keeping his distance.

Magnus wanted to say that no, that Alec had no idea how hard this truly was for him, but he remained silent. He didn’t want to hurt him with his words, Alec didn’t deserve it.

“I can’t say that I understand your pain,” Alec continued, “that’s something that only you can feel, but I do know how hard it is for you to be here today and be forced to relive everything that happened. I can see it in your eyes right now. In those tears welling up in your eyes and that you refuse to shed.”

“Alec…”

“You have to learn to forgive yourself for what happened here, Magnus, and your mother and stepfather too.” Alec said, this time closing the distance between them and grabbing his hands. “Both of them are gone. Your mother because she made her own choice to end her life, I know that you think it was your fault, but was it? You only think that because your stepfather said it, but he wasn’t a good person, maybe your mother was trying to run away from him, not you and-”

“You don’t know that.” Magnus said, fighting really hard against his emotions.

“Neither do you, no one but her knows why she did what she did, so all you have left to do as her son is to accept her decision and learn to move on. And your stepfather? Well, he’s gone because-”

“I killed him.” Magnus said.

“No, because he was a bad person and paid the consequences of his actions.” Alec said, placing one of his hands on Magnus’s cheek. Magnus could see in his boyfriend’s eyes that he was well aware that Magnus was on the very edge of falling apart, but he didn’t seem scared or worried, he looked determined, _to what?_ Magnus didn’t know, but there was a lot of determination in his eyes. “Think about this, if you hadn’t done what you did to him after your mother’s death, then he would have ended up killing you sooner rather than later. He didn’t like you, he was afraid of you, of your power. And you were just a kid who had lost his mother, you were hurt, scared, angry...you did what any other person, human or half human, would have done in your place.”

Magnus closed his eyes. Alec’s words were hard to hear.

“You have to start to forgive yourself for the things that were out of your control.” He said, and a single tear ran down Magnus’s eye. He could feel it, cold, making its way down his cheek and landing on Alec’s hand.

“Is your mother buried here?” Alec asked.

Magnus just nodded. He couldn’t open his eyes or speak, but he was grateful for the fact that Alec had been sensitive enough not to ask what had happened to his stepfather’s remains because there were none, he had turned into dust and ashes.

“I’ll be right back.” Alec said, walking out of the house.

Magnus opened his eyes. They burned with how much he was fighting the tears, Alec’s words had touched him deeply, but he didn’t know why his boyfriend had left. Maybe to give him some space or to-

Alec walked back into the house with a small white flower—a melati—that he had probably stolen from the neighbor’s garden. He didn’t say a word and just put it on the floor, there, in the middle of the room, as a symbol of respect for Magnus's late mother.

Magnus sobbed, unable to hold back the tears any longer.

“You know,” Alec said, getting closer to him and grabbing his hand; Magnus was grateful that Alec hadn't said anything about the tears cascading down Magnus’s cheeks. “We, Shadowhunters, believe that dying is another way to fulfill our duty. You know our rituals, you know what happens when a Shadowhunter dies, but there’s something about our deaths that I’ve always liked. The idea that although our bodies are gone, we’re still part of the world somehow. Not only because our ashes are literally used to reinforce the Silent City, but because our souls join the angels in that place above that’s beyond our reach. I’ve always thought that what mundanes say about their loved ones watching over them from heaven is somehow true, we all end up there at the end. And I’m sure that your mother, wherever she is, is now watching over you and feeling proud of the great man you’ve become.”

Magnus didn’t say anything, he couldn’t—the tears in his eyes wouldn’t let him. But he fixed his eyes on the lonely white flower on the floor and, for the first time in his life, he felt at peace with this place, with the memories it held, and what it meant for him.

“Do you want me to leave you alone for a minute?” Alec asked.

“No.” Magnus said. “I need you here.” He said, because it was true.

“Okay…”

They remained silent for a long time, Magnus just looking at the flower and learning to forgive himself. He knew it wasn’t going to be an overnight process, that he was going to need time, but he could already feel himself healing and that was comforting. Comforting in a way he didn’t know was possible.

“Thank you.” He whispered to Alec.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Yes, you did. You stayed with me despite knowing what I had done, you came here and somehow, you managed to make me see this place in a different way—through your eyes.” Magnus said, because no matter what happened, from now on, every time he came to this place he would always remember this moment, what Alec had said, and what it had meant to him.

Alec didn’t say anything, but squeezed his hand tighter.

They fell silent again, but now Magnus could feel that peace that Alec had talked about—it was everywhere.

“Thank you for bringing me here for my birthday.” Magnus said.

Alec smiled. “One day we’ll come back as a family.” He said.

Magnus looked at him, perplexed. They had talked about the future and both knew that they were going to stay together until one of them had to leave this world, but they had never talked about having a family. Magnus had never considered having kids of his own. “What?”

“That’s going to be my birthday gift for you in a few years.” Alec said. “A family trip to Indonesia.”

Magnus smiled. _A family._ Alec, his Alexander, was offering him his very own family as a birthday gift for the future. He was offering him that dream that he never thought would come true.

“We’ll come back and have all sorts of adventures together. We’ll take our kids to swim with the dolphins and eat all that delicious food you have here. We’ll try to befriend a Komodo Dragon so we can finally take some pictures with them without fear of being attacked, and we’ll teach them everything about your country and it’s traditions. We won't visit Tana Toraja until they’re older, though, I don’t want them to see those mummified corpses until they’re old enough to understand why people do that. But I do want them to learn to know and love the place where their dad comes from.”

“You’re being serious.” Magnus said because it seemed that Alec already had everything planned.

“Of course I’m being serious, unless you don’t want us to have kids, which I’d totally understand and-”

“No! I do want to have kids.” Magnus immediately said because after this weekend together and all the things they had gone through since they had started dating, it was very easy for him to see himself starting a family with Alec and only with Alec. “I want a family with you.”

Alec smiled. “We’ll have to teach them how to speak your language, though.” He said. “I don’t want them to be like me, having to ask you to translate everything to know what’s going on. In fact, you have to teach me too. I’m a fast learner, I promise.”

“What about that rune you have to speak languages?”

“It works for emergencies, but it’s always better to learn the language than to use the rune. It wears out too fast, you have to activate it every two words or so, it’s annoying. That’s why I never used it during our time here.”

“Then we’ll start your lessons as soon as we’re back.” Magnus smiled. There were no tears in his eyes, only those of happiness.

“I can’t wait.” Alec smiled, and left a soft kiss on his cheek.

Magnus smiled back, even though he felt a bit dizzy. Apparently, that insignificant display of affection that Alec had just had with him had been the cherry on top of everything that had happened during this trip and it was only now that he was realizing one thing: that Alec truly loved him and that that was never going to change.

A few centuries ago, a friend of his, a Shadowhunter, had told him that Shadowhunters only loved once in their lives and, although he had always been aware of that fact, he had never believed it to be true. Now, however, he was sure of it. There was nothing he could do or say that would make Alec love him any less than he loved him right now, and that realization, instead of frightening him, sent a wave of relief through his veins because after centuries and centuries of searching for his one true love, he had finally found him.

Magnus grabbed Alec’s stele from his pocket and carefully activated his _‘speak in tongues’_ rune. They had discovered a few weeks ago that he had the power to do that, after all, there was angelic blood running through his veins. It was the blood of a fallen angel, but still angelic enough to activate things that worked with angelic power—runes, seraph blades, witchlights.

 _“Aku Cinta Kamu.”_ He said, because saying those three words in his own language had more meaning and especially now that he knew Alec could understand him.

Alec looked at him and smiled. _“Aku Cinta Kamu.”_

Magnus kissed him, pouring into that kiss everything he had in him.

“Thank you for the best birthday ever.” He whispered and kissed him again. Thanking whoever was up there, watching over him, for making Alec’s path cross with his.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the support and for reading my stories. You have no idea how much that means to me. Please, don't forget to leave kudos and comments, those make authors very happy, believe me :D
> 
> Also, tomorrow night (late) I'll be sharing some pictures of the places I used as inspiration to write this story, so if you're interested in seeing the Indonesia that I got to discover with my research for this story, keep an eye on my twitter. I'll even be sharing pictures of Magnus's Villa :D 
> 
> You can find me as @MsAlexisCriss
> 
> See you soon for a LFY update and my x-mas Malec fic!!! XOXOXO


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